Chapter 48: Who’s There?
Felix was gathered in the common room of the living quarters with a few others and Max’s group, while the rest of the party were scattered across the island’s new infrastructure.
Felix had just splurged the team’s finances to purchase health potions for the entire party, as Rose’s spells and D-rank Minor Regeneration Talent weren’t strong enough to bring everyone back to health.
They weren’t so wary of Max’s party now, as not only had they fought alongside them in the Avariel battle, but they had also lost the healer of their party in the fight and were anticipating either a replacement or island disbandment within the next 24 hours. Till then, Max had proposed a beneficial alliance for the two islands to stick together to complement their weaknesses and scare off potential attackers when they saw that the two islands had banded together.
Though Felix was the uncrowned leader, he felt he couldn’t make that decision alone and wanted it to be discussed and agreed upon.
He looked around to see Arc and Liz were missing as usual, though he knew this time around they weren’t together. Arc had left much earlier, and he saw the red-haired girl heading for the lake as soon as she took a health potion he suspected Arc had given her.
Recalling how a similar name had ranked at the top of the leaderboard, Felix didn’t want to believe it was the Arc he knew. He turned to look at Joan sitting with Rose, who was casting her healing spells on Jack, who was the most injured out of the team.
"Joan, I’d like for us to have a team meeting and would want everyone to be present. If you’re feeling better now, can you help me find Arc and Liz?" he asked as he walked up to the lady.
Joan, who was lost in her own thoughts reminiscing about the events of the day, was quickly pulled back to reality.
"Huh? Sure." She said and spared Rose a glance, who assured her she would be fine with Max’s team around, before walking outside with Felix.
"I’ve checked the map, and I think Arc and the Avariel are in the manor, while Liz is by the river," Felix briefed. "I think we should split up in order to move faster."
"I’ll find Arc," Joan said quicker than she’d intended to.
Felix paused to stare at her before putting on a smile. "Sure then. Let’s meet back up here."
With that, the two went their separate ways, and Joan headed for the manor. She stopped before the door and, after a moment’s deliberation, tapped on it, but stepped in right after without waiting for a reply.
She was impressed by the size of the manor, but didn’t let herself get distracted as she went straight for the first door on the ground floor in search of Arc, when she suddenly paused after hearing a sound.
She listened carefully and realized it was coming from the direction of the staircase, so she abandoned the door and slowly headed for the staircase, ascending the first flight of stairs as the voices grew louder. But the first words she could make out made her freeze in her steps.
"C’mon, turn around. This won’t hurt."
"P-Please be gentle with me."
The first voice was undoubtedly Arc’s, and though she couldn’t recognize the second, she suspected it belonged to the Avariel he’d taken hostage.
Joan didn’t understand why her chest felt funny, and though she wasn’t one to poke her nose into other people’s business, for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to believe what she heard was actually what she thought was happening, and wanted to convince herself her mind was playing tricks on her.
She slowly peeked through the stair rails, and what she saw made her heart drop in an instant. She didn’t know when she stepped back so hard that the wooden board beneath her feet creaked, and the voices upstairs immediately went silent.
"Who’s there?"
***
"I-I can’t let you go in."
Arc stopped and stared at the Avariel healer, when he suddenly raised his hand.
Rhea flinched, assuming he was about to hit her, but she stood her ground and braced herself.
Arc’s hand went to her face, but contrary to her thoughts, he grabbed her hood and pulled it back. He was only realizing now that the Avariel healer had kept her hood on ever since, even within the mansion. And not only did he not know what she looked like, but he was curious to see what she was hiding beneath the hood.
The moment the hood fell, Arc was taken aback. Unlike what he expected to see, Rhea’s face was as smooth as silk and flawless as milk, with unique golden eyes. She wasn’t bald either, and had cyan-blue hair coming down to her shoulders.
She also had slightly large, bunny-sized ears that her hair couldn’t conceal, making her look cute instead of dangerous like the blood witch she was.
Arc didn’t have much of a reaction as he took in her appearance, before his hands went for her coat next, and Rhea stumbled back, but couldn’t move further as her back hit the door.
"W-What are you doing?" she asked with wide eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Take off your coat. I want to see what you’re hiding." Arc said as he slapped her hand away and pulled her coat down, revealing the flawless skin of her shoulders and the joint of a wing poking out from behind one shoulder.
But Arc immediately noticed something off. He could only see one wing, and not a pair like the other women of that race. Also, theirs were all white. Hers was a shade of crimson.
"Turn around," he said to her.
"W-What? T-This isn’t right. Is this why you captured me alive? We... we’re from different races," Rhea said, her face flushing red as she spoke in a pleading tone.
"What does our race have to do with anything?" he asked in confusion. "C’mon, turn around. This won’t hurt," he said in exasperation.
Rhea made a whimpering sound as she slowly spun around to face the door she’d been protecting with her life only a moment ago.
Just as her back came into view, Arc was about to inspect the missing wing when Rhea suddenly spoke as she pressed her chest against the door with her waist jutting out towards him.
"P-Please be gentle with me."
Arc’s lips twitched.
What the hell is she talking about?
"I already said this won’t hurt. Now shut up and let me do my thing," Arc said in exasperation as he placed his hands on her waist to adjust her awkward posture, when the sound of a wooden board creaking suddenly came from the stairs hidden from their view.
"Who’s there?"